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At the start of this decade, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was a small media company trading under $8 per share.
Fast forward to now, and the stock has gained more than 4,200% and Netflix has transformed into a technology giant often discussed alongside Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL, GOOG), otherwise known as the FAANG stocks.
Even after Netflix’s 4,200% rise, analysts still rate the stock a Buy and their average price targets for the stock indicate more than 12% upside for the year ahead.
But at the start of the new decade, there are a handful of other stocks investors may want to keep an eye on.
It can be difficult and risky to bet on growth stocks on the hope of their potential to disrupt an industry, but looking at megatrends can help investors spot companies whose fortunes are directly tied to major advancements we’ll see in the next decade.
UBS cautioned investors that it’s “important to differentiate between trends and fads.” “From an investment perspective, we are focused on the problem-solving companies that are meeting the need of a changing world” the firm said.
One company that fits the bill is NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE).
‘We expect the drive towards cleaner energy to continue, as cleaner power generation is increasingly competitive versus traditional fossil-fuel-based technologies,” Credit Suisse said.
Credit Suisse recently said NextEra was its top pick in the energy sector and highlighted the company’s “world-leading large-scale renewable development business.”
“Nearly half the company’s assets and earnings originate from its market leading dominance in North American utility scale renewable power. We expect this segment to grow at least 15% for the next decade or longer,” Credit Suisse added.
Another megatrend investors should be aware of is the explosion of big data.
“US and China [are] competing in nextgen technologies like quantum computing, semiconductors, AI, 5G communication networks, cybersecurity, and space that go well beyond manufacturing and trade issues,” Bank of America wrote in a note from November.
While there are many companies that could benefit from these trends, Credit Suisse highlighted Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) as a high-quality company serving the demands of the rise of the internet of things (IoT), as well as 5G devices.
“Over the next few years, the number of global connected devices is expected to grow exponentially, according to our technology analysts,” the firm said.
The next stock is out of this world – literally. Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) is working on both space tourism and hypersonic travel closer to earth.
Morgan Stanley recently gave Virgin Galactic shares an Outperform rating and a price target 102% higher than the current price.
“A viable space tourism business is what you pay for today… but a chance to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar airline [total addressable market] is what is really likely to drive the upside” for Virgin Galactic shares, wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas.
Jonas added that “today’s space tourism business serves as a funding strategy and innovation catalyst to incubate enabling tech for the hypersonic P2P (point-to-point) air travel opportunity.”
“While some investors have described high-speed hypersonic P2P air travel opportunity as ‘the icing on the cake,’ we see Hypersonic as both the cake and the icing, with Space Tourism as the oven,” Jonas wrote.
Jonas did recognize the risks facing Virgin Galactic, “including the possibility of fatal accidents, regulatory obstacles, limited market acceptance, competition, insufficient economics, and liquidity constraints.” However, “taken together, we think the risks are offset by the potential scale of the reward,” Jonas said.
Another global megatrend is an aging population and the quest to extend human life – an industry that Bank of America estimates is worth $110 billion today, and could be worth nearly six times that within five years.
“Generic therapies represent a paradigm shift in medicine, with the potential to revolutionize healthcare deliver and disrupt the biopharma industry,” UBS wrote in a note from this month.
Among a number of biotechs, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) stands out for its focus on genetic sequencing, a field Bank of America said is a “moonshot.”
“Illumina has near 100% of revenues from analyzing genetic data and would therefore be a High in our universe,” Bank of America wrote.
Illumina has a range of products that are already being used by researchers, which helps the company “in a brand spectrum of scientific activities to gain a greater understanding of genetic variation and biological function.”
“As such, Illumina’s tools play an important role in helping advance disease research, drug development, and the creation of molecular tests,” Bank of America concluded.
And finally, one last megatrend is the the explosion of video games in the global entertainment industry.
“The industry is currently more than a $150 billion market – larger than digital music and box office combined,” Jefferies wrote in a note.
The firm specifically likes Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) for its positioning in the mobile gaming space.
Jefferies found that nearly 90% of smartphone owners play mobile games, and they “believe ATVI’s aggressive approach will continue to play off, representing a $1 billion opportunity and $0.25 in incremental EPS by 2023.”
But mobile gaming isn’t the only space Activision is dominating.
The videogame publisher has been a big player in the rise of e-sports with its Overwatch League, which has quickly become one of the company’s $1 billion-plus franchises. For its 2019 Grand Finals in October, Activision reported that the Overwatch League finals drew 1.12 million average viewers, up 16% year-over-year.
And according to Piper Jaffray, the company’s brands will soon be featured in TV series and films on “various streaming services in [the] coming years,” helping Activision transform from a video game publisher into a digital content giant.


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Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics’ patent infringement battle stretches across various countries, with the latest focus shifting to the Dutch Republic.
Apple seemed to have scored a win this time, as The Hague District Court, Netherlands, has ruled in favor of the iPhone and iPad maker. Samsung had appealed for a ban on iPad and iPhones in the country, citing violation of a certain 3G wireless patent, according to Reuters.
Justifying its latest ruling, the court cited that Apple uses QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) baseband chips, which already has a licensing agreement with Samsung, thus ruling out Samsung’s accusation of its 3G patent infringement.
Amidst the bickering between Apple and Samsung, industry sources reveal that the former has sought Samsung’s touch-screen panels for its latest iPad. Though both the companies continue to fight tooth and nail for dominance in the tablet and smartphone markets, their business ties appear to be just as strong. For Apple, this makes perfect sense, given that supply constraints have always been more of a problem for it than weak demand.
Apple has also been pretty aggressive in protecting its intellectual property and has been using court rooms to counter competition in various countries. Except for a few failures, the company has seen success in many of the patent litigation cases that it has filed against Samsung and other fellow competitors such as HTC, Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (:MMI) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
We believe that Apple’s legal tussles will continue, as competition heats up in the smartphone and tablet space. This will increase legal expenses and hurt Apple’s operating profit going forward. Additionally, the impending lawsuits in different countries will remain an overhang on the stock going forward.
Despite these factors, we believe that Apple remains the biggest growth story based on its superior product pipeline, popular apps, the iCloud and iPhone 4S, and the “new iPad” and Apple TV, and loyal customer base. With a solid balance sheet and robust revenues, we expect Apple to outperform its peers in the long run. Moreover, we also expect Apple to succeed in developing countries due to the growing affluence of the middle class in key markets.
We have an Outperform recommendation on Apple over the long term (6-12 months). Currently, Apple has a Zacks #1 Rank, which implies a Strong Buy rating in the near term.Read the Full Research Report on AAPL
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Image courtesy of Getty Images
Probably just another loose rumor, loose reporting, or loose lips from the Microsoft corporation. As New York Magazine's Daily Intel reports; Microsoft wants to copy and the Apple stores and open stores of there own in New York City. They want to open 'cool' stores in Murray Hill, the Manhattan Mall, and Coney Island....even Florida.
Daily Intel writes:
How cool would a Microsoft store be in New York City? Andy Rooney spokesperson cool. Hamburger Helper for Valentine’s Day cool. Alex Rodriguez doing a "Just Say No" campaign cool. Gates and Co. will try to mimic the Apple buzz, but they’ll inevitably add their dorky spin.


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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will focus policy on boosting growth with inflation ‘well-behaved’ Central Bank Governor W D Lakshman said, after keeping policy rates unchanged in November 2020.
“Given well-behaved inflation, economic growth continues to be the key concern that needs to be addressed urgently,” Governor Lakshman told reporters in an online media briefing.
“The ongoing and expected monetary and fiscal support will help the recovery.”
Sri Lanka’s 12-month inflation measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index was 4 percent in October, unchanged from a month earlier and nation-wide inflation was 5.5 percent, down from 6.4 percent in September.
Sri Lanka’s economic growth is expected to be a negative 1.7 percent in 2020, after lockdowns in March followed by a strong recovery in the third quarter. But the Coronavirus flared again in October.
Governor Lakshman said falling deposit rates were a concern, but rates would be low until growth became ‘robust’.
“The (Monetary) Board’s consideration was that promotion of investments for the promotion of growth was very important.
“I am not saying it is more important than the deposit rates, but once growth picks up and then growth becomes robust over a period of time, then the consumers problems ought to be sorted out over time.”
Sri Lanka has a history of delaying rate rises – in April 2018 rates were cut and enforced with liquidity injections as credit picked up – triggering currency crises, followed by consumption and output collapses and credit downgrades.
The Central Bank’s Director of Economic Research Chandranath Amarasekera said the third quarter hit would be smaller, given that only parts of the country is in lockdown.
Sri Lanka is following a discretionary inflation targeting framework called ‘flexible’ inflation targeting coupled with a ‘flexible’ exchange rate.
In March the rupee was allowed to fall steeply towards 200 to the US dollar after ‘helicopter drops’ of liquidity injections and spike in credit, triggering a downgrade and import controls.
Private credit started to collapse from April and the rupee stabilized.
The rupee had been pegged around 185 to the US dollar with the central bank largely on the buying side (strong side convertibility), amid weak credit since then, though private credit started to pick up in September and October.
“In the absence of disruptive outflows the exchange rate was well-behaved except for some volatility before the budget was announced,” Governor Lakshman said.
“The speculation driven volatility had been addressed and the exchange rate has stabilized thereafter.”
Sri Lanka’s external current account and the trade deficit had fallen in recent months, and worker remittances had picked up he said.
A trade or current account deficit is a result of a savings investment gap, and weak credit will reduce investments and weak consumption will drive savings, making imports and economic growth fall.
The central bank had bought about 300 million dollars in 2020. Sri Lanka is also under import controls.
However a directed credit drive will begin, the central bank said. (Colombo/Nov20/2020)


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Mr Eckersley said:
“The law is there for a reason, it’s to stop companies inundating people with unwanted messages. Nouveau Finance Ltd neglected its responsibilities and that’s why they received the fine and were told to halt the campaign.”
The Government recently announced its plans to introduce personal fines for company directors heading up nuisance marketing firms. The new law should be in place by next spring. Our recent article, Directors to be personally fined for nuisance calls, gives more details.
Steve Eckersley ICO head of enforcement


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Rhonda Moore has her health back.
Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2009, Moore, 58, has reduced her blood glucose levels significantly through healthy eating and daily exercise. But a lack of supermarkets in her North Chicago neighborhood makes it difficult to maintain a nutritious diet — a crucial ingredient in controlling the disease.
"In North Chicago, there are no grocery stores," said Moore, 58. "Buses don't run on weekends. Cabs are expensive. I try to stock up on frozen things. I'd prefer to eat more salads and such, but you can't buy in bulk. It lasts only so long."
Others with Type 2 diabetes face similar hurdles in a number of Chicago neighborhoods and suburban pockets, so-called food deserts where supermarkets are a rarity. In Chicago, the problem persists largely in predominantly African-American neighborhoods on the South and West sides, where access to grocery stores, farmers markets or other vendors selling fresh, high-quality, affordable food is either limited or nonexistent.
"Think what it takes to get back and forth to a grocery store: public transportation, relying on a bus with all those bags," said Monica E. Peek, an assistant professor of medicine at the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research at the University of Chicago. "If you have kids? Trying to coordinate all that can be something else."
Like Moore, Cedric Chambers, 61, of North Chicago, has Type 2 diabetes and struggles to find quality food.
"We have a bunch of little stores but nothing bigger than a corner store," Chambers said. "For me, it's a problem. I don't have a car. I try to get rides to Waukegan."
Chambers and Moore participate in Be Well-Lake County, one of a few new initiatives that have sprouted in the suburbs and the city to increase access to healthy food for Type 2 diabetics and others in food deserts. A community health initiative started by NorthShore University HealthSystem, in collaboration with the Lake County Health Department and its Community Health Center, Be Well-Lake County provides diabetes care and education for medically underserved patients in North Chicago.
"(Type 2) diabetes may not require medicine but it does require lifestyle management with regards to diet and exercise," said Madeleine Shalowitz, a pediatrician at NorthShore. "In a food desert, things like healthy fruit and vegetables, a balance of whole grains and protein are difficult to get."
The Be Well program provides dietitians, nutrition education and healthy cooking methods as well as manage a community vegetable garden where program participants can grow and harvest fresh food.
"We offer education on how to pick healthy food even if a convenience store is your only option," said Christina Arnold, Be Well-Lake County diabetes program coordinator. "We look at what a patient can afford and what is available to them. We've gone out to convenience stores to find healthy choices: apples, bananas, oatmeal."
Also targeting access to healthy food for Type 2 diabetics is the Greenlight Select program, launched in 2010 by Northwestern Medicine, Walgreen Co. and Near North Health Service Corp. for Near North diabetic patients. Its recipients receive "prescriptions" for healthy foods that are redeemable for discounts at certain Walgreens food desert locations.
Because convenience stores are often the only markets in food deserts, the Healthy HotSpot Corner Stores pilot program was launched in November in more than 20 small, local stores in eight Cook County suburban neighborhoods.
In Mount Prospect, for instance, convenience store Mi Mexico is participating in the program, administered by Communities Putting Prevention to Work, a partnership between the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago.
With its help, Mi Mexico owner Francisco Perez was able to find potential distributors that could deliver fresh, healthy food items.
"Every day, we increase our healthy foods … wheat bread, fruit," Perez said. "Customers have been more interested in healthy items and have been demanding them."
Daily food choices can be influenced by factors other than the proximity of a supermarket. Healthy foods are generally more expensive on a calorie-by-calorie basis compared with processed junk foods, deterring many shoppers from making healthy choices.
"Calorie-dense food may seem less expensive if you don't take into account food volume and weight," said Rasa Kazlauskaite, an assistant professor in the preventive medicine and internal medicine departments at Rush University Medical Center. "If you approach it by volume, a bag of vegetables is cheaper than a candy bar. You get more for your money, can eat a lot and it's not bad for you."
Still, trying to eat healthfully on a budget is a challenge. "For me, the problem is cost," said diabetic patient Rhina Linares, 56, of Park City. She has a car and only has to drive 10 minutes to the Jewel-Osco between Gurnee and Waukegan.
"I want to buy fish, but it can be as much as $5 a pound."
Brandon Johnson, executive director for the South Side community corporation Washington Park Consortium, said that bringing in more stores won't necessarily mean more affordable, quality foods.
"We work with residents to figure out sustainable solutions to healthy food access," he said. "We're concerned with the quality of food and its affordability. Opening stores without thought of what's being sold does not solve the problem."
Meanwhile, Moore of North Chicago has taken matters into her own hands. She grows tomatoes, cucumbers and other produce at home and freezes them to save herself a trip to a distant supermarket.
"I've learned to plan meals," Moore said. "I try to be smarter about it but accept my diet won't be perfect. I can't worry about it. Worry won't bring a supermarket to town."
Rhonda Moore has her health back.


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Semiconductor shortage hits local electronics supplier
From cars to gaming consoles, computers and cell phones, the shortage of semiconductor chips is hitting home.
THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. — Digi-Key in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, employs 4,500 people, working to distribute electronic components like semiconductor chips.
According to Digi-Key's vice president of global supplier management, David Stein, those semiconductor chips make up a large part of their $3 billion business.
"It's approximately half of our revenue," Stein said.
Stein says Digi-Key provides the chips to several different industries, all of which use them in production.
"(They) could be automotive customers, they could be customers that manufacture computers, consumer home goods, medical applications, industrial applications, wireless products," Stein said.
Many people have likely run into difficulty finding at least one of these types of products lately. Stein says we have been building up to this shortage for some time.
As technology becomes more advanced, more semiconductors are needed in everything from phones to cars and even things such as electric toothbrushes.
The coronavirus pandemic only made things harder.
"(The) majority of the manufacturers were were shut down," Stein said. "Whether they were shut down 100% or they're shut down 50%, their ability to produce product was diminished."
Now we're still playing catch-up, with some supply chains around the world still heavily impacted, or shut down.
The semiconductor shortage also doesn't seem like it will be ending in the near future.
"We're looking for excess product to be produced starting as early as 2022, but still, with the demand that's required out there, I think there's still some tough times ahead of us," Stein said.


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Subaru ponders U.S. use of direct-injection turbo
TOKYO -- Subaru has rolled out its first direct-injection, turbocharged gasoline engine and is weighing whether to introduce the fuel-saving technology to the United States.
The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine is being offered as a performance option in Japan on the freshened Legacy sedan and wagon and Outback crossover. It went on sale here May 8.
Subaru says the new engine, the 2.0 GT DIT, delivers 5 percent more power and 20 percent better fuel efficiency than the brand's current 2.5-liter turbocharged engine. The new direct overhead cam engine is teamed with a continuously variable transmission.
The issue of bringing the engine to North America has not been decided. And it's not clear which models might get it.
Subaru currently sells a 2.5-liter turbo engine as an option on the U.S.-version Legacy, but doesn't have any powertrains with direct injection aside from the powertrain in the new BRZ.
That sporty coupe uses technology from Toyota Motor Corp., which owns 16 percent of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., which makes Subarus.
You can reach Hans Greimel at email@example.com. -- Follow Hans on


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Uber shuns ban in Germany
At a hearing earlier today, in Frankfurt a court ruled that mobile taxi firm Uber can no longer operate in Germany due to inadequate insurance and licensing for the type of private drivers it employs.
However, the San Francisco startup have turned a blind-eye to the ‘unfair’ ruling and insists that its drivers will continue to operate throughout the ban period, even though they could face fines up to an eye-watering €250,000 (Euros) per trip.
In an interview with the BBC, Uber insisted that it’s confident its extremely expensive and comprehensive insurance plan more than adequately covers drivers operating in Germany and intends to appeal the preliminary injunction before the week’s out.
“Germany is one of the fastest growing markets for Uber in Europe. We will continue to operate in Germany and will appeal the recent lawsuit filed by Taxi Deutschland in Frankfurt. You cannot put the brakes on progress. Uber will continue its operations and will offer UberPop ridesharing services via its app throughout Germany,” writes a spokesperson for the firm.
This isn’t the first time Uber’s had a brush with the law. It was only back in June of this year that London’s transport authorities, TFL, decided not to pursue a case against the organization after thousands of taxi drivers held a protest against technology-enabled services, like Uber, claiming that they were stealing their customers.
We’re going to have to wait and see how this pans out, but we don’t think it’s going to end well for Uber. Be sure to check back for more information. In the mean time, we’d love to hear your opinion on the matter. Do you think it’s an unjust ruling on the German government’s part? Be sure to drop us a line in the comments section down below


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Nike first unveiled a look at its Air More Money sneakers earlier in March this year and now introduces one of the colorways for the silhouette before the release. The new Air More Money sneakers boast a colorway of white, black and coral, constructed from a white leather material on its uppers and black contrasting mesh details on its zig-zag lacing system. The sneakers draw inspiration directly from Nike's own Uptempos model, with the Air Max sole unit in a white tonal color and black Air bubble in the heels.
The highlight element of the new Air More Money sneakers are the vamp embellishing details, seeing 'Air Money' in block letters and a coral-toned piggy bank logo. The sneakers will be launching on May 10 online at Nike and select Nike retail locations.


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Cellular telecom carriers spent Saturday working to restore wireless service to customers across the U.S. northeast, which is just beginning to pick itself up from the battering it suffered earlier in the week from hurricane Sandy.
Consumers in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy may not get wired phone, Internet and video service back for as long as two weeks, Verizon Communications warned on Friday, while the FCC reported continued slow progress by carriers in restoring ...
U.S. cellphone carriers took a major step on Wednesday toward curbing the rising number of smartphone thefts with the introduction of databases that will block stolen phones from being used on domestic networks.
Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy knocked out mobile, phone and cable service in many parts of the eastern U.S. on Monday, with about one in four cell sites affected in the hardest-hit band of the country between Virginia and Massachusetts, according to an...
The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing a proposed US$3.6 billion spectrum purchase by Verizon Wireless, a spokeswoman there said Tuesday.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should investigate Verizon Wireless for allegedly blocking Google Wallet on a new smartphone available to the carrier's customers, a law professor has said.
Cox Communications plans to sell wireless spectrum licenses covering 28 million U.S. residents to Verizon Wireless for US$315 million, becoming the latest cable operator to join with Verizon for mobile services.
The Galaxy Nexus, the first phone to run the latest version of Android, will finally go on sale Thursday from Verizon.
Competition in the smartphone sector will remain cutthroat in 2012, as vendors will improve performance using LTE, high-resolution screens and quad-core processors and GPUs.
Verizon Wireless said Thursday it doesn't add to its phones any software from Carrier IQ, the company that has come under fire in the past few days for what some say amounts to spying on mobile phone users.
In a perfect world, wireless carriers would respond to the discovery of Carrier IQ with straight answers.
Mobile telecom trade group CTIA and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) will roll out a rating system for mobile applications similar to ratings on other electronic games, the groups announced Tuesday.
AT&T's revenue was down slightly in the third quarter of 2011, compared to a year earlier, but net income rose by about US$400 million, on a comparable basis, driven by strong growth in its mobile and broadband divisions.
Telefonica and Verizon in a few months will become the first operators to offer Android phones running VMware's mobile hypervisor, the companies announced Wednesday at the VMworld 2011 Europe conference in Copenhagen.
Major U.S. mobile carriers will begin offering free usage alerts to customers in an effort to help them avoid surprise charges on their bills, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and a mobile trade group announced Monday.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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If you’re a fan of performance cars, you’ve probably heard about the incoming next-generation Chevrolet Corvette — dubbed the C8 — which will be hitting the market soon.
By the way, the nomenclature works thusly: The “C” means Corvette, and the number represents the generation.
The C8 is therefore the newest (eighth-generation) Corvette. The outgoing Corvette, which is still on sale now, is called the C7. And so on.
For the latest C8 Corvette, there’s been an evolutionary leap in performance and pricing. From about $73,000 Canadian dollars, the new C8 will offer up nearly 500 standard horsepower, world-class handling capabilities, the latest go-fast tech, and performance figures on par with many an exotic car costing (literally) hundreds of thousands of dollars more.
Look no further than the engine for an idea of how serious an evolution this latest Corvette is. Like all Corvettes before it, the new C8 is powered by a naturally-aspirated V8, but engineers re-located it, for the first time in a Corvette, to the centre of the car.
Thus, the new Corvette features a mid-mounted engine layout, just like many an exotic Ferrari, Lamborghini, and any number of the world’s fastest cars.
So, at an asking price that barely opens the door on a (slower) BMW M3 or Porsche Cayman S, the new Corvette C8 will deliver supercar performance — including 0-100 km/h in about three seconds flat.
Until now, that sort of acceleration usually required an investment of no less than about $150,000.
Simply, there’s just never been a car that offered up this level of performance at this price point.
If what GM tells us about the new Corvette is true, product planners at many automakers who deal in high-performance cars are likely tossing and turning in their sleep, because this new Corvette C8, for a wide range of shoppers, might make the six-figure supercar obsolete.
For those after maximum performance specifications for their dollar, there’s virtually nothing else on the market that makes more sense.
This is all good news for the shopper, including those after a good deal on a second-hand high-performance car.
If you’ve been eyeing up the idea of investing in a used, earlier-generation Corvette as a future summertime plaything, than now is a great time to start paying attention to availability in the used market, as well as pricing.
At the very moment, second-hand C7 Corvette models command prices that tend to centre around the official MSRP for the upcoming new C8.
This varies widely by model grade, equipped options, and condition, of course. Some C7 generation Corvette’s are considerably cheaper, and some variants, including the higher-performing Z06 Corvette, are even more expensive.
Simply, there’s just never been a car that offered up this level of performance, at this price point.
Thing is, when the C8 launches, it’ll put a faster, more capable machine into the same pricing ballpark.
A brand-new model, with the latest tech. The latest Corvette, with the latest performance capabilities.
Initial reports suggest that the new C8 can easily be equipped to exceed the performance figures of even the fastest currently-available C7 Corvette models, but at a considerable cost advantage. And that’s from a brand-new car, with a warranty, and possibly, with a much lower asking price.
By this writer’s estimation, the asking prices of used Corvette models from the last C7 generation might be about to fall off a cliff, thanks to the launch of its replacement.
First, unsold C7-generation Corvettes at dealer lots will likely need to be cleared out before the C8 arrives, which could mean considerable pricing discounts. After all, when the C8 takes centre stage in Chevrolet showrooms it will become a whole lot harder to sell un-sold C7s — given the massively-improved performance of the C8 and its highly appealing price point.
Imagine you’re at a restaurant. One steak dinner costs $50 and includes a side salad. The other steak dinner costs $55 and includes all the fixings and a much bigger steak. Same idea.
Note, as well, that the launch of a new-generation Corvette is likely to trigger trade-ins of earlier-generation cars by loyal owners upgrading to the latest model. This increases dealer inventory of used Corvettes, and also makes them more abundant in the used market.
Second-hand C7 Corvette supply is about to go up. And with the giant performance and bang-for-the-buck leap represented by the new C8, it’s not a stretch to think that C7 demand may wind up dropping as a result.
Why buy a gently-used C7 with some options for $70,000, when you can get the brand-new, much-faster, C8, with full warranty (and built to your specifications) for just a few bucks more, after all?
When supply rises and demand falls, prices also tend to fall.
Translation? Shoppers considering a newer second-hand Corvette, or an unsold brand-new C7, are likely to see better deals in the very near future.
Finally, this whole thing could also trickle down to the market at large, reducing the cost of performance and horsepower in general.
Why buy a second-hand, high-end exotic, (possibly for tens of thousands more), when the C8 offers equal or better performance (and a factory warranty), for much less?
Many of those saving $70,000 to $80,000 for a used performance car will, very soon, have a highly-compelling option in something brand new. This could result in higher inventory of used $70,000 to $80,000 performance cars and, eventually, in a price-drop.
Of course, other factors may be at play. Perhaps the C7 Corvette retains higher resale values as a collectible car of sorts; it’s the last of the front-engine Corvettes and may well be the last generation Corvette offered with a manual transmission (which is, at this writing, not available in the new C8).
Time will tell.
But the launch of the new C8 will be a very good thing for performance car shoppers in general.


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A CUMBRIAN brewer has returned from a trade mission to Japan, during which he met a brewer from Ambleside who has set up a successful business in the country.
Jason Hill, managing director of Eden Brewery, which is based near Penrith, flew to Japan on February 26 and has spent nearly two weeks meeting potential distributors and business contacts in the country.
One of the people Mr Hill met was Dan Cockburn, originally from Ambleside, who moved to the country nine years ago and is now the brewer at the Hakuba Brewing Company, near Nagano.
Mr Hill, who returned from Japan last week, also met with a number of potential Japanese distributors to look into ways Eden Brewery could export its beer to the country.
He said: “The independent brewery scene is growing increasingly popular in Japan. It was fascinating to meet Dan and learn more about the market here in the country and how he has made a success of it.
“There are a lot of really good local independent breweries, but there is definitely enthusiasm for high quality imported British beer as well and hopefully it is an emerging market that we can enter at just the right time.
“I have had some really useful meetings and conversations with some of the distributors over here and now we’ll have to take some time to review all these contacts and see if we can make them bear fruit.”
To find out more about the brewery and its beer go to www.edenbrewery.com


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Ryan Gooding / For the Camera
In the opinion of GQ, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis is the worst-dressed man in congressional history.
But the Boulder Democrat, who famously sported a poorly received bow tie-and-polo look on the House floor last year, never saw himself as a fashion disaster, per se, until the magazine reached out to offer a makeover.
“Coming from Boulder, I felt like, you know, I was dressing consistently with my friends and neighbors,” said Polis, 40. “Sometimes wearing tie-dye, sometimes wearing a Target T-shirt with a smiley face on it, and usually wearing shorts wherever I go.”
He was open to GQ’s makeover proposal, but the magazine never followed through. So, Ninox, a designer menswear label that launched in Boulder in October, seized the chance to outfit Polis, and on Tuesday decked him out in the kinds of spiffy yet authentically Colorado threads that the congressman says he needs more of.
Among the items Polis donned were waterproof chinos and his first pair of polarized shades.
“There’s this running gag in D.C. that I need fashion help, or that I’m a fashion victim,” Polis said at Boulder’s Chautauqua Park, where he met the designers. “Thanks to Ninox, I can wear waterproof pants that look great even coming out of a rainstorm.
“We’re playing around with different ideas where I can still represent Boulder creativity, but do it in a way that’s less offensive to some of the more curmudgeonly members of Congress.”
He said his fashion idols in the House are Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. He also noted that his best-dressed male colleague is former Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock, who resigned in March after news broke that he had spent over $100,000 in government funds on private planes, new cars, tickets to the Super Bowl and cufflinks, among other items.
“He was impeccable,” Polis said. “He had the best fashion sense — all the designer labels. The guy looked like he could be a model, and now he could be going to prison.
“I think that shows that there’s more to being a good congressman than fashion.”
That may be true, but a clean outfit that actually fits wouldn’t hurt, said Ninox designer and co-founder Allie Thielens.
“I think he has good taste, but the major problem is fit,” Thielens said, backtracking a bit when pressed on her liberal use of the words “good taste.”
“I mean, there is the problem that he likes to wear a lot of polos,” she added. “We’re helping him fix that. I just think they’re a little too casual, and when there are so many good button-down options, there’s no need for the polo.”
In Polis’ new wardrobe, some things will never change. He’s still loyal to the bolo tie in lieu of the real thing, and he expects he’ll still struggle from time to time keeping food off his shirt. And, even though he met with Ninox on Tuesday, he doesn’t plan to make fittings a regular part of his life.
“I think maybe once a decade I’ll go shopping for new clothes,” Polis said. “These pants are made with some really great material, and I think they could last me at least 10 years.”


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Picnic raises €250 million for robotized distribution center
Online supermarket Picnic has raised 250 million euros in a new investment round. The Dutch company wants to use this money to build a robotized distribution center of 42,000 square meters.
Investors are the existing shareholders, while the Dutch bank ABN Amro has provided Picnic with a new loan. The millions of euros will be used to develop a logistics center that’s equipped with over a hundred fully automated sorting, packing and distribution machines.
‘The basis of our growth strategy’
“We use this funding to develop the most sustainable infrastructure for home delivery and to hire the best people from the tech industry”, co-founder Frederik Nieuwenhuys explains. “Together with our electric cars, the robotic distribution center in Utrecht forms the basis of our growth strategy and also provides a thousand jobs.”
150,000 households can be served from the dc
The new distribution center will have room for 200,000 crates, which will be used to store the fast-moving consumer goods. In total, 150,000 households in the Netherlands can be served every week from this dc.
300,000 new customers this year
Thus far, Picnic has received about 300,000 new customers in the Netherlands and Germany this year.


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Big Fish Games announced its latest innovation in gaming during a keynote address at the 2012 Casual Connect conference held in July, at last unveiling the company’s vision for cloud-connected gaming.
Though Big Fish has previously offered captivating gaming options to customers via PC- and mobile device-based downloads, the Big Fish Unlimited service offers the ability to stream more than 100 unique games through PCs, mobile platforms and – a new Big Fish offering – Internet-enabled televisions using Roku streaming devices.
Roku, the first company to revolutionize the way televisions interacted with the Internet, aggregates subscription-based online networks like Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBOGo and Big Fish Unlimited in one small, easy-to-use box and remote control combo. The streaming player, upon being linked to a Wi-Fi connection, can download the service like it would an app, providing content not through downloaded content, but content streamed through a cloud storage system that saves game data and progress regardless of what device you last left off on.
“Customers are increasingly adopting connected devices, and they expect games to be instantly accessible and playable across those devices. This marks the first time that customers can choose where to play, because our service is powered by the cloud and game progress will follow customers from device to device,” said Will O’Brien, vice president and general manager of cloud gaming at Big Fish Games. “The game play mechanics of our catalog of casual titles are ideally suited to this new delivery technology; anyone with a typical broadband Internet connection will be able to use this service.”
Further expanding its audience, Big Fish Unlimited is also now accessible from Android devices and specially designed for the Nexus 7 tablet, being run through Google Play and allowing users to make cloud-stored playlists of their games.
Big Fish Unlimited continues the service’s tradition of providing quality casual games, with featured titles like “The Lost Kingdom Prophecy,” “Grim Tales: The Bridge,” “Macabre Mysteries: Curse of the Nightingale” and “Island Tribe 2” – all able to be played through a stream. The system, since its launch, has continued to update with new game releases roughly twice per week, ranging from hidden object to time management titles.
The newly-launched service can be accessed with a monthly fee of $7.99 for a Big Fish Unlimited premium catalog, with non-subscribers gaining free access to as many as 20 games that support in-game advertising as a means of trial.


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London's first Modest Fashion Week
Fashion designers and bloggers from around the world gathered at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea for London's first Modest Fashion Week. The two-day event was filled with excitement as modest wear hit the runway.
More than 40 designers were featured at London's Modest Fashion week; they showcased maxi dresses, loose clothing, hijabs and formal wear.
Women who wear modest fashion whether for personal taste or religious beliefs were elated to see outfits they could wear on a mainstream stage. Hijabi fashion blogger Dina Tokio told Blogoshere magazine 'I want to show that you can coincide faith with fashion and that there are Muslim women who actually represent that.' Tokio is well known on Instagram for showcasing how she incorporates modern fashionable style while wearing hijab.
On Twitter members of the Muslim Community praised the show for being revolutionary. All fashion fans present as well as the JustLongShirts team look forward to London's second Modest Fashion Week!
Photo credit: London Modest Fashion Week catwalk (MEE/Adam Omar)


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updated 02:50 am EDT, Fri May 2, 2014
Browser version of Vine adds improved navigation and more
Vine, the six-second video clip platform, has released an update for its Web browser version. Initially launched in January, the updated version of the site now allows users to scroll through channels and curated playlists, as well as granting the ability to peruse what content is trending. Vine is now accessible without logging in, and links to videos can be sent to anyone for viewing in a full-screen TV mode format. Lastly, a new search bar has been added, with options to search by person, tag, or location for preferred content.
Cooliris media app now available on Android
Photo aggregation app Cooliris is now available for Android devices, two years after its initial iOS launch. Cooliris can connect its users' photo media into one accessible location from more than 15 different social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram and more. Offering a centralized gallery, users can browse their photos and share them with friends. Presently requiring Android OS 4.1 to function, Cooliris is planning to update the app to accommodate older versions of Android.


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The U.S. justice Department was asked to reconsider the lawsuit of Apple and Samsung’s patent on Slide to Unlock
The U.S. Department of justice appealed to the Supreme court to cancel the decision on the patent dispute Apple and Samsung and send the case back for retrial to the court of first instance. It is reported RIA.
We are talking about a major patent dispute, which began in 2011. In February 2016, the U.S. court of appeals for the Federal circuit ruled in favor of Samsung in dispute with Apple in the case of patents and use some of the features in smartphones, in particular, unlocking the screen “slide to unlock”.
According to the case, in 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone, which use the new technology. To protect the rights of the company have received patents, which include unlocking the screen from your finger on it — the “slide to unlock”. The claim is given and the patent on the system data detection, for example, phone numbers in the address book when entering similar figures, and also automatic correction of spelling.
The appeal decided that Apple patents on the “slide to unlock” and the correction text is invalid and recognized that Apple infringed one of Samsung patents relating to video and photography, and must pay South Korean firm $158 400 in fines. Samsung for infringement of several patents in the design that were revealed during the proceedings, had to pay a fine of $548 million
The South Korean company decided to challenge the fine in the Supreme court, claiming that it was too big, and that the violations concerned only the design components of the phone, not just smartphone.
The U.S. justice Department considers that it is unclear whether Samsung has provided enough evidence to support its arguments on the irregularities in the design. The Department also recognized that the amount of the fine depends on whether the violation only parts of the phone or smartphone in General.


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- In a new industry collaboration Lightware has teamed up with Primeview to offer HDBaseT embedded displays, which the two showed off to consultants at a joint showroom in Manhattan, November 5.
Lightware sister company HRS Control managed the system with its simple, hardware free and device agnostic software.
The end-to-end connectivity solutions included 4K video delivery and daisy-chaining in several video wall displays. Primeview’s recently launched 49-inch HDBaseT 4K industrial UHD LED LCD monitor was one of the highlights greeting visitors upon entry.
Primeview and Lightware welcomed consultants to experience what their recent partnership is enabling at a joint showroom in New York City, November 5.
The showroom was completely wired with Cat-6 cable, saving the companies about $10,000 in implementation costs. The embedded HDBaseT directly in the displays cuts out the need for a dedicated video processor. Lightware sister company HRS Control managed the system with its simple, hardware free and device agnostic software.
Lightware’s HDBaseT solutions include the new MX-TPS-IB/OB eight-channel TPS input and output boards, the UMX series TPS transmitter, the DVI-HDCP-TPS-TX95 and DVI-HDCP-TPS-RX95 twisted pair long distance DVI extenders, and the HDMI-TPS-TX95 and HDMI-TPS-RX95 twisted pair HDBaseT extenders.


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Campaign: Vogue Fashion’s Night Out
Client: Vogue Australia, News Magazines
On 8 September, Vogue Australia lured tens of thousands of shoppers into Sydney’s CBD by hosting Vogue Fashion’s Night Out for the second year running, introducing a more vibrant style of marketing to consumers.
In 2009, Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief at (American) Vogue, created an annual event called Vogue Fashion’s Night Out (VFNO) to support retailers and fashion brands during the global financial crisis.
The premise was simple: leverage the unprecedented power of Vogue to lure shoppers to shop, treating them to a night of celebrities, champagne, pampering and special offers. By injecting fun and glamour back into the retail experience, VFNO has evolved into an international event, taking place in more than 18 cities annually.
On 8 September 2011, Vogue Australia (published by News Magazines) hosted VFNO in Sydney for the second year running.
According to Kirstie Clements, editor-in-chief at Vogue Australia, “Vogue Fashion’s Night Out demonstrates our support of the Australian fashion industry. The event brings the exclusive world of Vogue to life and gives everyone the opportunity to shop like a VIP for one night only.”
Fashion’s Night Out cleverly reaffirms Vogue‘s status as the world’s definitive fashion bible, building on its extraordinary brand equity. The event also tackles a bigger question: can a brand like Vogue help to reinvigorate an ailing retail economy and introduce a more vibrant way of marketing to shoppers?
The key goal of VFNO is to support the Australian fashion industry – including Vogue‘s advertising clients – with a retail-driving campaign designed to get people shopping.
There are almost 140,000 retail businesses in Australia accounting for 4.2 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) and 10.7 percent of employment, according to the Productivity Commission draft report on the Australian retail industry.
However, the retail sector has been growing at its slowest pace for 50 years, thanks to a cautious economic climate.
Strategically, VFNO helps retailers adopt more experiential marketing techniques to bring the excitement back into shopping. Remember when an afternoon browsing in the CBD was an outing to thrill?
“With the rise of online shopping, retail brands have to be more experiential,” says Clements. “I think brands looking for success in future have to make the in-store experience special.”
By hosting Fashion’s Night out, Vogue set out to unite fiercely competitive retailers with the common goal of making shopping fun again.
In July, Vogue Australia hosted two industry briefings in Sydney and Melbourne, inviting all retail stores, shopping centres and Australian designers within the Sydney CBD precinct to get involved. News Magazines provided marketing collateral and organisational support, encouraging retailers to host bespoke brand activations featuring champagne, DJs, canapés, complimentary massages and so on.
In the weeks leading up to 8 September, News Magazines promoted VFNO with a multimillion-dollar marketing and PR push.
The luxury market is nearing $1 billion in Australia, and the real driver for growth is coming from ordinary middle-class Australians, who are looking to splash out on something special. While the global luxury industry suffered an eight percent decline in 2009, the Australian luxury industry saw a 22 percent growth on average for fashion and accessories, and 14 percent for watches and fine jewellery, according to MO Luxury’s ‘Evaluation of the Australian Luxury Market’ report.
This suggests that consumers are looking for luxury, VIP experiences, in which case Vogue Australia is ideally positioned to help retailers deliver these experiences.
Of course, online retailing now accounts for approximately six percent of total retail sales in Australia, of which two percent is spent internationally. If Australian retailers are to remain competitive, they must also offer a strong online offering.
So on 8 June, Vogue Australia preceded Fashion’s Night Out by hosting the inaugural Vogue‘s Online Shopping Night, an event that lured shoppers to vogue.com.au with one-night-only offers from some of Australia’s top brands and e-tailers.
Together, VFNO and Vogue‘s Online Shopping Night are complementary events tailored to drive retail sales both online and in-store.
Around 100 brands and shopping websites participated in Vogue‘s Online Shopping Night, from high street retailers like Sportsgirl and Myer to Australian labels like Sass & Bide, Kirrily Johnston, Therese Rawsthorne and Gail Elliott.
To drum up participants, Vogue Australia hosted a ‘media hub’ and invited celebrity bloggers, including Jennifer Hawkins, Ruby Rose (representing Georg Jensen) and 15 Australian designers to tweet about the night’s best offers.
Three months later on 8 September, VFNO took over Sydney’s CBD. Locations included Westfield Sydney, David Jones, Myer, MidCity Centre, Strand Arcade, MLC Centre, QVB and luxury retailers along Castlereagh, George and King Streets.
Participants ranged from prestige brands like Tiffany & Co, Hermès, Prada, Ferragamo, Cartier, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Jimmy Choo and Bulgari to high street fashion labels Sportsgirl, Cue, Zara, Aldo, Bardot, DKNY, Dotti, Guess and Gap.
Australian designers had a strong presence: Leona Edmiston, Terry Biviano, Carla Zampatti, Josh Goot, Kirrily Johnston, Little Joe Woman, Zimmerman and Lisa Ho, to name a few.
Key supporters of VFNO included the City of Sydney, Destination NSW, Westfield Sydney, Gordon’s Gin, Smirnoff and Hyundai.
The busiest stores were those that hosted the most rewarding brand activations. Tiffany & Co hosted ‘Studio 57′, transporting shoppers back to the glamorous party era of the 1970s. Leona Edmiston hosted the ‘Leona Lounge’ where shoppers were pampered by La Prairie, and treated to bubbly and high tea. Hermès framed its guests in Parisian silk and gave them a taste of the magic of Paris.
Vogue also tapped into its social media outlets to entice consumers into various stores. It hosted Australia’s first Twitter treasure hunt, with clues distributed via twitter.com/vogueoz, to lure people into a variety of stores.
Vogue Australia worked with creative agency Gen A to execute a fresh campaign to promote VFNO. The campaign concept for 2011 was ‘wandering stars’ to position everyone as stars for the night of VFNO.
The core target audience comprised females aged 18 to 40 who love fashion and shopping – or just a fun night out – and was not restricted to Vogue readers or vogue.com.au users. The night aimed to treat every person to a Vogue VIP shopping experience.
A dedicated website, fashionsnightout.vogue.com.au, went live mid-July allowing consumers to pre-plan their own VFNO night-out; 80,000 shopping guides were distributed and a ‘Vogue VIP’ iPhone app was created specifically for the event.
One week prior, 180 VFNO flags were erected throughout the Sydney CBD grid, spanning the shopping precincts of Martin Place, Pitt Street, Castlereagh Street and Elizabeth Street.
News Magazines utilised its relationship with News Limited by launching an integrated marketing campaign with The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Sydney Confidential, Sunday Magazine and thetelegraph.com.au.
Retailer involvement in VFNO grew 50 percent in 2011, rising from 400 stores in 2010 to over 600.
Other highlights included:
- Tiffany & Co’s ‘Studio 57′ party lured more than 2000 shoppers in-store throughout the evening
- the Zara store was so heavily populated by customers that the EFTPOS system went down after two and a half hours and salespeople were seen stripping mannequins nude in order to keep up with the customer demand for merchandise
- a spokesperson for designer Josh Goot, who appeared at David Jones, said department store sales for the brand were up 30 percent from last year
- Diageo’s Vogue Lounge sampled product to over 2000 shoppers
- Vogue Australia‘s Facebook page now has 42,832 Likes, with 7949 new fans generated by VFNO
- 10,569 users engaged with the page on 8 September 2011 (2000-plus more than the previous week)
- #FNO was the top trending hashtag on Twitter in Sydney on 8 September and the morning of 9 September, and
- #FNO tweets to or by @vogueoz earned over 2.1 million impressions on 8 September and sentiment on Twitter was 95 percent positive.
On 8 June, Vogue‘s Online Shopping Night was also a resounding success – in fact it was so successful, the event will be repeated on Wednesday 30 November to drive pre-Christmas retail sales.
The inaugural Vogue‘s Online Fashion Night attracted 66,000 unique browsers to vogue.com.au, a daily increase of 42 percent.
At Georg Jensen Australia, managing director Ann Sullivan says: “As a result of Vogue‘s Online Shopping Night, our online sales for the night set a record after two years of selling Georg Jensen online in Australia. Interacting with an online community of shoppers really paid dividends for our brand.”
Mycatwalk.com reported that sales increased by 400 percent, compared to normal daily website sales. MOR Cosmetics reported an 80 percent sales increase, while Gazal P/L (Lovable) reported a phenomenal 1000 percent sales increase, driven by a 50 percent discount offered on the night.
The success of VFNO and Vogue‘s Online Shopping Night suggests that a new marketing format has emerged within the retail sector: one that relies on collaboration between competing retailers, which taps into the power of brands like Vogue Australia to deliver VIP, retail-driving experiences.


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Nike co-founder Phil Knight Retires From Board
BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) —Nike says Phil Knight, its co-founder and chairman, has retired from its board. CEO Mark Parker is the new chairman.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, on the board since 2005, becomes the lead independent director.
Knight had said a year ago that he planned to step down. He said then he wanted Parker to replace him.
Knight started the Nike by selling shoes out of the back of his car and built it into the world's largest athletic shoe and clothing company.
He becomes the Beaverton, Oregon-based company's chairman emeritus. He will be able to attend Nike board meetings as an observer.


text: US information technology multinational Hewlett Packard (HP; HPQ.NYSE) edged past Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group (0992.HKG) to regain the position as the world’s largest PC provider in the fourth-quarter last year, Bloomberg reported, citing research firm Gartner (IT.NYSE, GGRA.FRA). Although Lenovo’s sales grew 8.2% year-on-year, HP’s strength in the professional PC market helped it overtake Lenovo, Gartner said in a Monday report. HP shipped 16.2% of PCs in the fourth quarter, up from 15.5% in the same period last year, while Lenovo’s market share increased to 15.5% from 13.6% last year. HP is trying to fight slowing growth, as consumers switch from PCs to tablets. Lenovo’s shipments to the Middle East, Europe and Africa declined for the second quarter in a row, falling 9.6% to 28.1 million PCs, according to Gartner.


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S201 Launch will give Mahindra a soft-roader to compete with EcoSport, Creta and others…
Mahindra had intentions of introducing Ssangyong Tivoli in India and we were the first to share with you its spyshots from India. They went on to showcase the compact crossover at the 2016 Auto Expo. Later on, reports claimed that Mahindra had shelved the plan and they will not launch any Ssangyong-branded product in India any more.
A recent update at Autocar revealed that Mahindra is now considering introducing a new SUV codenamed as S201 in India which will be based on the platform of Tivoli. Pawan Goenka, MD of Mahindra confirmed the development of S210 and announced that it will share its platform with Tivoli.
A few days before this confirmation came in, MotorBash already had shared its first spy pics, with the S201 being tested along with the TUV500 (elongated TUV300) somewhere around Chennai. In a latest update, other portals have also started spotting the S201 – with Indianautosblog sharing some spyshots.
It is clear that these early prototypes are being tested under Tivoli’s shell. They may be testing engines or some components of the new S201 with these test mules or if Mahindra has intentions of just re-badging the Tivoli as a Mahindra as it is!
Tivoli-Based S201 Launch
According to reports, Mahindra intends to launch S201 next year. Apart from this, Mahindra is also testing its U321 MPV in India which is a big-bang project!
Next Read: Fortuner-Rival Mahindra ‘XUV700’ Under Works; Launch Expected This Year Itself


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Connie Lee, co-founder of smart herbal tea brewer producer Lify Wellness, shares how COVID-19 has disrupted her firm’s plans, yet strengthened the business and paved the way for future successes
How has your business been affected by COVID-19?
Before the pandemic, we received a few term sheets signed by Fortune Global 500 companies with the intention to invest in us and distribute our smart herbal tea brewer, which uses eco-friendly single-serve herbal discs. However, the pandemic has put the agreements on hold. Potential investors don’t have a clear roadmap of when our brewer can be launched in overseas markets, as our partner factory in Mainland China has only resumed its production to half capacity, thus delaying the production lead time from two to three months to four to six months.
Have you taken any measures to minimise the impact of the pandemic on your business and create new opportunities?
We have worked with our traditional Chinese medicine consultant to launch new tea blends to help boost immunity and various body conditions. This has created opportunities for us to tap into the preventive healthcare market. We have enhanced our digital platform and user experience design by employing CRM automation. We also launched a direct-to-customer e-commerce platform for customers to repurchase herbal discs. Our focus has been shifted from looking for potential distributorships in Europe and the US to Southeast Asia and Mainland China via e-commerce platforms. This will help ramp up our sales volume more quickly without having to wait for the regions to recover entirely.
How do you see your business develop post COVID-19?
We believe when the economy recovers, the demand for healthcare products will increase. We have to be prepared for large-scale global penetration. Our focus on the B2B sales channel will be the key revenue stream, as we’ve been in talks with global hotel chains and spa centres for collaboration once the tourism industry bounces back.
What have you learnt from this pandemic?
It is important to be flexible in every business decision we make, as there will always be ad hoc situations and uncertainties. It is also important to diversify resources into different areas including segmentation of our marketing strategies, and to always have a backup plan. It is always wise to have an optimistic plan and a worst-case scenario plan on hand so that we know what to do when unforeseeable situations arise.
Related start-up story:
Origami Labs’ Strategic Shift Has Kept It Afloat
Check out the COVID-19 Survival Guide For Start-Ups:
For all the latest information on SME and start-up support, visit www.hktdc.com/sme
Get ready for the post-pandemic world, check out the new products and services at sourcing.hktdc.com


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Samsung is said to be working in collaboration with NTT DoCoMo to launch a Tizen-based smartphone, according to reports in Yomiuri Shimbun
. This smartphone is expected to see the light of the day by sometime next year.
For people who may not be aware,Tizen is a linux-based open source operating system announced after the demise of MeeGo. Nokia had launched two MeeGo-based smartphones Nokia N9 and Nokia N950. However, it later decided to partner with Microsoft, leaving a foundation backed by Samsung, Intel and others to take over the development of the operating system, which became Tizen. Tizen is seen as an alternative operating system to iOS and Android. It is touted to be more open Android and HTML5-friendly by its makers. In May 2012, Tizen had released its 1.0 Larkspur SDK and source code.
Apart from NTT DoCoMo, CNET reports that there are other UK-based carriers such as Vodaphone and France Telecom, which are interested in this Tizen-based smartphone.
Samsung has always maintained that it is happy to look beyond Android and had even tried to push its own operating system Bada, which failed to garner much attention beyond the company itself.
There are also murmers doing the rounds that Samsung is looking at merging its Bada OS with Tizen. Given that in there has been absolutely no interest or momentum on the Bada platform, this could be a possibility. However, there is no official confirmation available on this front as of now.
Earlier in 2012, we had also seen another off shoot of MeeGo being spun into operating system dubbed as Sailfish OS, which too is expected to debut in 2013. So overall, it looks like we might get some freshness in terms of operating system in the new year.


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Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has launched the Sentosa Playbook for Reducing Disposables in its commitment to reduce the use of plastic disposables across the island.
In collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF-Singapore), the Playbook is the first precinct-level disposables guidebook in Singapore that provides guidance to businesses on Sentosa to help them understand best practices, monitor progress and push boundaries through new sustainable technologies.
To reduce the use of plastic disposables, members of the Sentosa Carbon Neutral Network (SCNN) – which include hotels, attractions and F&B operators – have committed to remove single-use plastic bottled water from guestrooms, dine-in, takeaway, and events by end-2023. This island-wide policy is estimated to reduce total island bottled water usage by at least two million bottles per year.
The Playbook also outlines 16 measures to reduce disposables, grouped into six categories from takeaway bags, food containers to amenity kits, across hotels, attractions, and F&B operators.
Some key measures undertaken by SCNN members include Capella Singapore eliminating single-use plastic bottled water since 2019 and removing plastic packaging from in-room amenities such as dental kits and laundry bags; Baristart Coffee’s app-enabled container programme that allows patrons to loan containers for free, and returning them for cleaning and sanitisation within 30 days; and Sentosa Golf Club removing all single-use plastic bottled water since 2018.
Thien Kwee Eng, CEO, SDC, said: “We hope that through challenging everyone on the island to make the necessary changes together, we can inspire our guests that change in their consumption behaviour is possible. This Playbook will serve to guide island businesses to align their practices with a Sentosa-wide approach towards tackling waste and working towards a Sustainable Sentosa.”
“We believe that successful implementation in Sentosa will inspire more players in the tourism industry to rethink single-use plastic products and explore innovative sustainability solutions,” commented R. Raghunathan, CEO, WWF-Singapore.
Together with Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa is the first island destination in Asia to be conferred the Global Sustainable Tourism Council – For Destinations (GSTC-D) certificate in 2022. SDC continues to explore more innovative ways of reducing carbon emissions through the launch of sustainability-focused experiences.
The full Playbook can be downloaded here.


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Sprint has teamed up with Google to offer its enterprise customers access to Google Apps for Business.
Starting in August, companies that use Sprint to provide employees with cellular service will also be able to sign up for Google's services at the same time.
That includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google Drive, and Google Docs. But business customers also get 24/7 support and online training, and single sign-on.
"Sprint offers a variety of mobile tools to accommodate multi-generational work styles within the workplace, helping people to boost productivity and collaborate from virtually anywhere," Mike Fitz, vice president of business solution commercialization at Sprint Business, said in a statement.
Sprint customers, meanwhile, can tap into the carrier's Spark network and HD Voice, from a broad variety of smartphones.
"Google Apps helps businesses work better together with familiar tools they can trust," said Murali Sitaram, director of strategic partnerships for Google Enterprise. "We are pleased to welcome Sprint to the Google Apps Partner Program, where they will provide Google Apps and added services to help customers work the way they live."
As Bloomberg pointed out(Opens in a new window), Sprint has struggled to keep pace with its top U.S. carrier rivals, so offering Google services could be a bid to attract new customers.
There are reports that Sprint will soon merge with T-Mobile to compete with AT&T and Verizon, though nothing has been announced.
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Palm has announced the next generation of mobile phone using its webOS system - the Pixi.
Only announced for the US at the moment, the Pixi is a Treo-style mobile with a full QWERTY keyboard (with similar buttons to the Pre).
It features a 2.63-inch touchscreen with multi-touch once more (ha to YOU Apple), and while it sports 3G, it bizarrely has shunned Wi-Fi.
An underpowered 2MP camera has been welded to the back of the forthcoming Palm Pixi (with flash though), although there is space for a 3.5mm jack, GPS and a full 8GB of memory.
But at the end of the day, Palm wants to build an ecosystem around the excellent webOS, meaning users will get cool multi-tasking, linked conversations and sweet pinch and zoom functionality.
We actually saw a leak of the Pixi a few months back, so we're pretty amazed to see it's kept the codename that was leaked with it.
Considering it took Palm three months to announce a release date for the Pre, and then another three to let the UK know when it will be getting it, we've absolutely no idea on a UK release date.
But given the Palm Pre is being unveiled in the next few months, could we see a major shock and get the Palm Pixi too? OK, it's unlikely... but we like to dream.


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Hewlett-Packard continues shopping spree
Published: September 13,2010
NEW YORK — Hewlett-Packard Co. has agreed to buy the security software provider ArcSight for about $1.5 billion, the company said today as it extends a recent spree of acquisitions.
The deal is part of a strategy begun under former CEO Mark Hurd, with the company looking to grow outside the low-margin personal computer market. It agreed to buy the data-storage maker 3Par for $2.07 billion just a few weeks ago after a bidding war with rival Dell Inc.
The acquisitions have continued even after Hurd’s departure. He was forced to resign last month after an internal investigation found that he faked expense reports to cover up a relationship with an outside contractor. HP is suing Hurd, who has denied the allegations, to keep him out of a job at rival Oracle Corp.
ArcSight Inc., based in Cupertino, Calif., helps organizations keep tabs on the data flowing through their computer networks and analyze it for signs of hacking, theft or fraud. Its revenue in the most recent fiscal year came to about $181 million.
Today, HP said it would offer ArcSight stockholders $43.50 per share in cash. That’s a 24 percent premium over the ArcSight’s closing share price Friday and a 54 percent premium over ArcSight’s last closing share price before news of a potential deal leaked.
ArcSight shares climbed $8.90, or 25.4 percent, to $44 — 50 cents above the offered price — in morning trading. Shares of HP, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif., rose 14 cents to $38.34.
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Ralph Lauren is taking steps to accelerate its Next Great Chapter plan to deliver long-term growth and value creation. Among them is a 15 percent reduction in its 24,000-member workforce in an effort to establish a simpler global organizational structure and the rolling out of enhanced technology platforms.
As reported last month, the $6.2 billion company began a strategic review to support future growth and profitability and create a sustainable cost structure. The review included three initiatives: The evaluation of team structures and ways of working; real estate footprint and related costs across distribution centers, corporate offices, and direct-to-consumer retail and wholesale doors, and the group’s brand portfolio.
As part of the review of its headcount, Ralph Lauren plans to cut its global workforce by about 3,600 employees by the end of fiscal 2021, which is expected to result in a gross annualized pre-tax expense swing of about $180 million to $200 million, with savings realization primarily beginning in fiscal year 2022.
The company has had furloughs during the pandemic, but this is the first time it is having layoffs.
As a result of the workforce reduction, Ralph Lauren expects to incur total estimated pre-tax charges of about $120 million to $160 million. In addition to the actions revealed today, the company expects to take additional steps to implement its fiscal 2021 strategic realignment plan.
Eye: Candidly Yours, NYFW Spring 2021
Over the past two fiscal years Ralph Lauren has moved to elevate its brands, which the company said has seen marked progress. As part of its Next Great Chapter plan, the company aims to attract a new generation of consumers; energize core products while accelerating high potential, underdeveloped categories; drive targeted expansion; lead with digital, and operate with discipline to fuel growth.
“The changes happening in the world around us have accelerated the shifts we saw pre-COVID, and we are fast-tracking some of our plans to match these – including advancing our digital transformation and simplifying our team structures,” said Patrice Louvet, president and chief executive officer. “These steps will enable us to progress our brand elevation journey and deliver Ralph’s vision in today’s dynamic environment – inspiring our consumers around the world and creating value for all of our stakeholders.”
As far as the organizational structure, the company plans to consolidate its global marketing and branding functions under David Lauren, who is vice chairman of the board, chief branding and chief innovation officer. He will add marketing responsibilities. Jonathan Bottomley, chief brand officer at Ralph Lauren, will be leaving the company.
The company declined to say which specific departments would be streamlined, except to say that it is simplifying team structures across the organization.
The company will also establish a new Consumer Intelligence and Experience organization, focused on leveraging consumer insights and predictive analytics to drive personalized consumer experiences at scale. In addition, it will reorganize the company’s corporate merchandising teams to combine core brand propositions, enabling greater connectivity and productivity. Ralph Lauren also continues to integrate Global Citizenship & Sustainability into all aspects of its business, making it a key responsibility for all leaders.
In the area of digital transformation, the company is changing how it operates by implementing new technology platforms across several key areas. This includes rolling out a cloud-based human resources and planning system globally, and elevating how it delivers for consumers through its Digitizing the Value Chain project. This is a company-wide initiative to simplify ways of working, better connect teams and digitize the product journey. The goal is to enable faster and more connected decision-making from product design to market. The company is also investing in technologies to help deliver a better consumer experience, with new digital capabilities that support areas such as omni-channel shopping, personalization, social commerce and augmented reality.
According to the company, these steps are expected to streamline the organization and simplify reporting lines, empower teams to make faster decisions and collaborate more easily, as well as support the delivery of one elevated Ralph Lauren vision and voice globally, while maintaining strong local capabilities and expertise.
Ralph Lauren, chairman and chief creative officer, said, “Over 52 years ago, this company started with a single tie and a dream that made it into a way of life. The timeless values we were founded on have propelled us on an incredible journey – one that has seen great challenges and amazing opportunities along the way. Through it all, our commitment to stay true to who we are, while evolving with the world around us, has helped to secure our future and our place as one of the world’s most beloved and inspiring brands.”
Like most fashion companies, Ralph Lauren got hit hard by COVID-19 and has decided to take more of its destiny in its own hands. As reported, for the quarter ended June 27, Lauren’s revenues fell 65.9 percent to $487.5 million from $1.4 billion a year earlier. Net losses totaled $127.7 million, or $1.75 a diluted share, down from earnings of $117.1 million, or $1.47, a year earlier. The company achieved digital commerce comparable growth of 13 percent, with digital operating margin expanding more than 1,000 basis points compared with a year earlier.
In the most recent quarter, the company had $2.71 billion in cash and investments and total debt of $1.9 billion.
Ralph Lauren has made several moves to strengthen the brand, pulling it out of 200 wholesale doors, cutting inventories, raising prices and putting more of an emphasis on direct to consumer On the earnings call last month, Louvet said, “The focus for us going forward is [direct-to-consumer] first.” After this comes digital commerce, through the firm’s own site and others.
At this specific time, no stores are closing, but the company’s store portfolio is always under review and the firm is looking at all leases to make sure it has the right fleet in the right areas The company’s store strategy is to expand in top cities in areas where it is understored, relative to its peers, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific region, and in neighborhoods where it sees consumers who are repeat customers and use the full omni-channel experience. The company opened new stores in Athens and Madrid in the past few weeks.
In April, when the pandemic first got underway in the U.S., Lauren himself said he would forego his entire salary for fiscal year 2021, in addition to his full fiscal year 2020 bonus. (Lauren’s salary and bonus last year were around $11 million.) Louvet’s salary was reduced by 50 percent during the crisis, and all the other 140 members of the executive and global leadership team reduced their salaries by 20 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2021. In addition, the company’s board forewent their quarterly cash compensation for the first quarter of fiscal 2021.
While Lauren’s retail stores were closed in the spring, the company furloughed the majority of its store workers. As reported, Lauren’s store employees in North America were compensated when the stores were closed from mid-March and were paid in full through April 11. International store employees in regions where retail operations were required to remain closed received similar compensation. Following that period, all of its store employees where retail operations were suspended, as well as employees whose job were not conducive to continued remote working, were placed on unpaid temporary furlough through June. This included the majority of its store employees and a portion of its corporate employees in North America, Europe and select other parts of the world. These employees continued to receive regular employee benefits, including health benefits and any government assistance for those eligible.
Back in 2016, when Ralph Lauren introduced its Way Forward Plan under then ceo-Stefan Larsson, the company closed 50 stores and eliminated around 8 percent of the workforce, streamlining multiple layers of management. That was on top of a five percent reduction of the workforce the previous year.
FOR MORE STORIES:
Ralph Lauren Reinventing in COVID-19 Crisis
Ralph Lauren Gives Furloughs, Pay Cuts to Navigate COVID-19 Impacts
Ralph Lauren Revenues Fall 65.9 Percent
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China's top diplomat to Canada condemns detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, and urges Ottawa to make 'correct decision'
Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu warned that "any attempt to bully or oppress the Chinese people will inevitably be hit hard."
With a minimal market share in China and a supply chain largely based in Vietnam, Samsung has escaped much of the coronavirus outbreak's fallout.
Trump took another swipe at Britain over 'untrustworthy' Huawei as his tensions with Boris Johnson grow
Trump's ambassador to Germany warned allies that doing deals with an "untrustworthy 5g vendor" would damage intelligence-sharing with the US.
Boris Johnson has canceled his planned trip to the White House after Trump slammed the phone down on him in a moment of 'apoplectic' fury
President Donald Trump is losing support from the US's closest ally after slamming down the phone on Johnson during a call described as "apoplectic."
US government files racketeering charges against Huawei and its CFO, accusing the Chinese telecom giant of conspiring to steal trade secrets from 6 tech companies
The latest indictment includes information alleging Huawei tried to steal trade secrets from six different US technology companies.
WhatsApp seized on US allegations against Huawei to defend encryption against the government's demands for backdoors
WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook have been fighting off US demands to build methods for law enforcement to infiltrate encrypted messaging.
The United States' closest European allies are no longer taking Donald Trump's threats seriously.
The US says Huawei has been spying through 'back doors' designed for law enforcement — which is what the US has been pressuring tech companies to do for years
This is the first time the US has given any details about how it thinks Huawei spies on people though mobile telecoms.
China says Huawei is the victim of a 'witch hunt' as it warns European countries not to freeze the company out of their 5G networks
China's ambassador to the UK says Conservative Party politicians opposing Huawei's involvement in Britain's 5G network are conducting a "witch hunt."
Trump is losing the support of the United States' closest ally after the president slammed down the phone on them during an 'apoplectic' call
Donald Trump slammed the phone down on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who had accused the president of "failing to lead."
All it takes to fool facial recognition at airports and border crossings is a printed mask, researchers found
Researchers said they fooled facial-recognition tech across three continents but were unable to fool some software, including Apple's Face ID.
The firms are creating a platform for developers to upload apps onto all of their app stores at once.
President Donald Trump was "apoplectic" during the call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has now delayed his planned trip to the US.
Boris Johnson, Trump's closest foreign ally, is distancing himself from the president whom he says is 'failing to lead'
Donald Trump's closest foreign ally says the president is "failing to lead" and "letting the air out of the tires of the world economy."
Huawei was repeatedly pressing Verizon to pay licensing fees on technologies it claimed to have patented, the Wall Street Journal reported last year.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE has cancelled its press conference due to the outbreak, but is still attending the event.
There's finally an answer to which companies the United States will use to deploy 5G technology if it isn't going to use Huawei.
The UK will allow Huawei to build out some of its 5G telecom systems. Consider it another blow to Trump's foreign-policy "strategy."
Huawei sold more smartphones than Apple in 2019 despite the fact that its new phones can't run Google apps — but it's not so surprising
Chinese consumers rallied behind Huawei in 2019, showing that access to American app markets might not be necessary for smartphone domination.
The battle for dominance of the smartphone industry is getting fiercer than ever as Apple makes a roaring comeback thanks to the iPhone 11
Apple's iPhone 11 helped the tech giant's struggling smartphone business recover, ratcheting up the competition with Samsung and Huawei.


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Sabato Sagaria Leaves Union Square Hospitality Group
Sabato Sagaria, who had served as chief restaurant officer of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) for four years, has been named president of Bartaco. The Latin American chain is part of the Connecticut-based Barteca Restaurant Group, which also owns 13 Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning locations of Barcelona Wine Bar.
Sagaria says he was drawn to Barteca from his very first experiences in its restaurants. "I sat down at the bar and they overheard that my friend had never tried Sherry," Sagaria told Wine Spectator. "And without missing a beat, six glasses appeared, and the bartender went on to give [a] down-to-earth, two-minute tutorial on one of the most complex beverages on the planet."
As president, Sagaria plans to maintain that individualized guest experience as Bartaco grows; six new locations will open in 2018, adding to the 15 the chain has already. He says providing strong training programs and hiring passionate, ambitious people will deliver that caliber of service.—J.H.
Chicago's Arthur Hon Is in at Union Square Cafe
In other USHG news, Arthur Hon, sommelier of the acclaimed Chicago restaurants Sepia and Proxi, has left to become the assistant wine director of Union Square Cafe. The Danny Meyer institution, his first restaurant, opened at its original location in 1985 and earned an Award of Excellence in 1987. Now in a brand-new location just a few blocks north, its 600-selection wine list holds a Best of Award of Excellence.
"The timing at this point was right for me. I think that I was ready to let go of what I had built," Hon, who spent a decade working at Sepia, told Wine Spectator. Jason Wagner, Union Square Cafe's wine director, has known Hon for years and is looking forward to working with him. "For [Hon], being a good sommelier is not selling the most expensive bottle, it's getting the right bottle to the right person," said Wagner."
These staff shuffles come on the heels of the group's latest project, Vini e Fritti, which opened in the Redbury Hotel Oct. 10. It's USHG's third venture in the hotel: Caffé Marchio and Award of Excellence winner Marta complete the trio.—J.H.
Lobster Club Opens, Major Food Group Trifecta Completed
The Lobster Club, the third of Major Food Group's restaurants in the renovated Seagram Building in New York, will open Nov. 1. Steak house the Grill and seafood restaurant the Pool opened in May and July, respectively. (The Grill and the Pool are also the subjects of Wine Spectator's upcoming Dec. 15 issue cover story.)
Overseen by acclaimed sushi chef Tasuku Murakami, the Lobster Club will serve elegant Japanese cuisine. John Slover, the wine director for all three restaurants, created a single wine list that matches all the concepts and their food. The wines that he bought for the Pool, like Champagnes and Chablis that complement its lighter fare, will go well with the first half of the Lobster Club menu. Some of the more elegant reds that he bought for the Grill, such as Grenache-based wines like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, will suit the second, heartier half that includes more meat.
Slover will offer 16 wines by the glass. He hopes to give guests a sense of discovery with Japanese cuisine, similar to the joy he felt trying sashimi with an old bottle of red Burgundy, which he called "one of the greatest and most unusual pairings." He'll also be bulking up the off-dry Rieslings to play off the Asian spices.
Slover is developing a sake program tailored to the Lobster Club (but available at the two other restaurants), with around 75 selections. He envisions tables sharing a selection of sakes with a progression of food, evoking the experience of a wine bar. "I wanted to think about how to make it sort of fun and interesting for people to try a lot of different things," he said.—J.H.
New Orleans Treasure Gabrielle Reopens After Katrina Devastation
More than 12 years after damage from Hurricane Katrina caused Gabrielle Restaurant to shutter in 2005, it has finally reopened, about a mile from the original location. Owned by Mary and Greg Sonnier and named for their daughter, the New Orleans eatery held an Award of Excellence from 1998 until the year it closed. Now 28 years old, Gabrielle herself will serve as front-of-house manager.
For years, the family had been looking for a way to bring back their business, and finally purchased a former Asian restaurant, renovating the exterior to resemble their original building.
Greg Sonnier was pleased to see several regulars return for the opening. "It's really nice to see [guests with] happy faces [and] full bellies," he told Wine Spectator. He says he's kept many customer favorites on the menu, like his slow-roasted duck, as well as added new plates like a stuffed rabbit belly with dirty rice–style quinoa.
The French-focused wine list currently has 50 selections, and is still growing, with 16 wines available by the glass and a few magnums. Sonnier says that rich Chardonnays and flavorful Zinfandels are some of his favorite wines to pair with the bold Creole cuisine.
"A lot of people we came to know by first-name basis, when they walked through the door we knew what they wanted to drink and we had their cocktail waiting," Sonnier said of the feel of his restaurant. "So that's what we wanted to recreate."—J.H.
Thomas Keller's Bouchon in Beverly Hills Will Close
Bouchon in Beverly Hills, chef Thomas Keller's Best of Award of Excellence winner, recently announced that it will be closing its doors Dec. 31. The restaurant is known for its traditional French bistro dishes, as well as its wine program spanning 380 selections, with strengths in California, Burgundy and Bordeaux.
"It is with great sadness that we must end our partnership with the city of Beverly Hills," Keller said in a statement. "The circumstances no longer exist to operate a profitable restaurant. I especially want to commend everyone who has worked with us over the years to make such an important impact with our guests and the community."
Restaurant Award–winning locations of Bouchon in Yountville and Las Vegas will remain open.—V.S.
City Winery Rocks Out with Two New Locations
Known for its wine and live music, City Winery will be coming to Boston and Washington, D.C., by the end of 2017. The chain has four Restaurant Award–winning locations, and is known for its wide selection of in-house wines.
The new outposts, in Boston's West End and D.C.'s Ivy City neighborhoods, will feature around 20 City Winery wines on tap, in addition to two guest taps with rotating selections. "By blending the worlds of wine and music together, we create an intimate atmosphere where guests can enjoy a concert while savoring great food paired with phenomenal wines," said CEO and founder Michael Dorf in a press release.—V.S.
Now Open in Pittsburgh: Red, the Steakhouse
Red Restaurant Group has opened a Red, the Steakhouse location in the U.S. Steel Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh. This is the newest addition to the high-end steak-house chain, which includes a Best of Award of Excellence winner in Miami Beach, Fla.
Similar to its sister restaurants, the Pittsburgh outpost's wine program features classic steak-house selections from California, France, Italy and beyond. "We partner with some of the finest producers in the world to bring vintages with distinctive notes and flavors to the table," sommelier Stephanie Pack, who built the wine list, said via email.—L.W.
Fogo de Chão Launches Half-Off Wine Discounts
Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian steak house with 43 Restaurant Award–winning locations across the globe, has kicked off a wine promotion. At all outposts, South American bottles under $100 will be half-price on Wednesdays.
"Whether a high-altitude Malbec from Mendoza, an undiscovered, organic Carmenère from the Colchagua Valley, or a Bordeaux-style blend from Chile, we believe this will be a lot of fun for our guests," Fogo de Chão's CEO Larry Johnson said via email.—J.H.


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Release dates: every game confirmed for 2017
Injustice 2: tier list and base character stats ranked for the full roster
Tomak Gop, The Witcher 2 senior producer, has said that the development team is currently considering DLC support for the RPG.
Tomak Gop headlines
Tomak Gop latest
CD Projekt “thinking about” DLC for The Witcher 2


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Immediately after being sworn-in on May 26, Modi took to Twitter to let others know about his informal conversation with his Pakistani counterpart.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Hiraben today received a white sari gifted by Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif, who visited Delhi last month.
Five newspapers said earlier this month that soldiers had held up print runs and seized copies of their editions over security concerns.
In Mathura, the polluted effluents from hundreds of sari-dyeing units discharged in the river have only compounded the problem.
By selling higher-margin items such as kitchenware sets and saris, India’s television shopping players are looking to steal a march against their e-commerce peers.
Sonam Kapoor was quite the vision on the Cannes 2014 red carpet, the actress’s fourth year at the French Riviera film festival.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said it has been India's endeavour to establish peaceful and friendly relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan.
Modi said he was encouraged by discussions with Sharif during his visit to Delhi on bilateral relations and the convergence on views.


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Reevo has announced a deal with Interwetten to integrate its entire slots portfolio into its system and go live with the operator.
Titles such as Reel Fortune, Diamon Luck, Crazy Crocs and Wolf Wild will be made available to customers on the Interwetten online casino platform.
It is expected that future titles will be added to the iGaming section, including unreleased games such as Royal Bets and Mayan Magic Gold.
Petra Maria Poola, Head of Sales, Reevo, said: “To go live with our slot content with a brand as prestigious and well-known as Interwetten is a significant achievement.
“We’re delighted to partner with them and are really looking forward to seeing how their players enjoy our games which are proving instant hits around the world.”
As well as creating an extensive aggregation platform for third-party studios, Reevo also aims to develop and release two games every month from its in-house studio.
Mario Bilic, Head of Product Management CRM and Content, Interwetten said: “Reevo have some fantastic content that our players will undoubtedly enjoy and it’s pleasing that we are able to further expand our offering by adding their games.
“I’m sure the response will be very positive with both existing and future releases.”
Interwetten also offers both live and virtual online casino experiences, with games from over 50 providers currently available on the website.
Another partnership was recently announced between Reevo and Hölle Games, which saw iGaming content from the provider integrated into Reevo’s platform.
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